Who Is Alison?
Alison McAusland
Why I Do What I Do
Music has always been an important part of me. Since I first picked up a clarinet aged 9, to playing at the Royal Albert Hall when I was 16, to meeting the man I later married in a band at university, music has changed the course of my life.
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I believe everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy learning and playing music, and that is the mission of my School of Music. Not everyone can afford to buy or rent a sax or a clarinet on a whim, and it can put some people off. That's why I became a Nuvo Ambassador, and a qualified Music Medals Assessor - to increase access to making music. Many of my students started on the plastic Nuvo jSAX or Clarinéo, and we have now progressed to lessons on full-sized instruments.
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I have played in full orchestras in my career, and it is an awe-inspiring feeling to be part of the swell and flow of a classical piece. But for me, jazz is the ultimate musical experience. To play with a group of other musicians and to make something truly unique every time you perform is exhilarating and intense. Through a proper training process, I hope that some of my students will be able to enjoy the thrill of playing the type of music that they love.
What is my background?
I have lived in the UK my whole life, at times in the North West and the North East, but now living in Tamworth in the Midlands with my husband and two sons (aged 7 and 5).
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I started playing the clarinet aged 9 and then baritone saxophone aged 11, after a music teacher challenged me to try to get a note out of it. I did, and the rest is history!
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I studied clarinet and saxophone throughout school, with highlights being to play in the Midlands Youth Orchestra, and in the Staffordshire Youth Jazz Orchestra, where I learned to shape my own style. I performed in venues across the country including the Royal Albert Hall and Birmingham's Symphony Hall.
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My music qualifications are ABRSM Grade 8 Distinction on (alto) saxophone and (Bb) clarinet, but I also play and perform on soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones. I've got grade 5 distinction on piano and music theory. Following an A level in Music, I read music and history at Durham University, achieving a First Class BA (Hons). I hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Music from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, specialising in jazz.
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After graduating from Durham, I trained to Qualified Teacher Status as a secondary teacher, and I have a PGCE from the University of Cambridge. I was a classroom teacher at a high school in Barton-Under-Needwood and during this time I was selected for the National College of School Leadership Fast Track Teaching Programme and completed training in Project Management and Creative Thinking.
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After the birth of my sons I decided it was time to continue my passion for both music and teaching by establishing my own school of music based in Tamworth. Since setting up the business I have been a finalist in the Tamworth Business and Community Awards for two years running, and a finalist in the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Awards 2020.
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I am very proud to live in the Midlands and to represent my home town of Tamworth. In 2019 I was honoured to receive a 'Be Tamworth' award from the Mayor for services to the local community.
